Happy Monday! We hope you had a beautiful weekend. Our Mindfulness Matters team is currently bi-coastal (NYC and SF), but we have to say, we had gorgeous fall days on both coasts - so grateful!

For today's #MindfulnessMonday we want to share a quote that we have taken on as our personal yogi mantra. This mantra is, "do no harm, take no shit". Okay, so we know that the second half of that may not seem super "yogic", but that might just depend on your idea or definition of a yogi. If you remember way back when we talked about Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga and one of his universal observances being, ahimsa (non-violence). And that's why we say first and foremost, do no harm. Do no harm in action, speech or even thought. And within ahimsa, do no harm, we also take on the obligation to be compassionate. So, we work to be compassionate and kind and to do no harm to our fellow beings and to ourselves, but, that doesn't mean that we should just let people walk all over us. Just because we are being kind, does not mean that we cannot be strong in our convictions and fight for our beliefs.

We think people have this idea of yogis as these almost angelic beings detached from reality. But, we are here to tell you that there are some super badass yogis out there who spread so much love and light, but who are true to who they are no matter what the world tries to tell them. That stand up for their rights, beliefs and dreams, but they do so in a positive way without hurting others in the process. And, we love that.

So, even if you're not a yogi, we think this is a great message to take into everyday life. Be kind, be compassionate, be gracious, but be strong, be firm and stand up for what you want in this life. After all, you just get one.